Training Effectiveness (Human Resource Management) Essay

Training Effectiveness (Human Resource Management) - Essay Example The main question thus arises, how can one measure the effectiveness of training in organizations, yet training is an intangible and unquantifiable expense? One of the highly used methods is the visual confirmation. The visual confirmation aspect, hence considers various aspects that include the changes in behaviors, an increase in productivity and the overall level of expertise each of the people who have undergone training exhibit. This measure of training effectiveness is usually observed by the training manager or the HR head in charge of training. Another measure of training effectiveness is the aspect of social ownership. Social ownership is the ability of a trainee to disburse this knowledge to other people, acting as a trainer. Social ownership can be packaged an analysis of peer-to-peer teaching moments or commanded training by manager, whereby the trainee would have to share his or her learning from the training program (Eades, 2014). Even so, the most used and reliable method is skill assessment. After training has been conducted in the organization, a periodical monitoring and assessment of skills can be conducted to ensure that the training was effective in imparting such skills. Of all the mentioned methods, the most appropriate is the skills assessment module. Skill assessment is the preferable measure of training effectiveness that can be used in this organization. Primarily, one of the key reasons why skill assessment is the most appropriate, is the fact that a statistical quantification can be implemented. By assessing the skills, a manager can understand the effectiveness of the training. As such, it is arguable that skill assessment is one of the best approaches of measuring training effectiveness in any given

Thistles and Tall Nettles Essay Example for Free

Thistles and Tall Nettles Essay The poems Tall Nettles by Edward Thomas and Thistles by Ted Hughes contain similar yet different themes. Both of them contain not one but many themes of their own. The Tall Nettles contains a theme of abandonment, a theme of nature fighting back against man, and man-made objects, as well as the theme of inner beauty i. e. , beauty that is not obvious to the eye. The poet is showing that the plant is fierce, yet protective over a place that belongs to them, simply because no one else wants it. It portrays how the nettles have triumphed over man by covering the machines. Thomas shows this conquest over man in a positive light. It portrays the nettles as beautiful, yet they are not aesthetically pleasing. This seems to show that Thomas sees the inner beauty of the nettles; he portrays their resilience and strength. Thistles also contains the theme of nature fighting back against man as well as the theme of survival. Unlike in the previous poem, the thistles are fighting over land which is still desired by man. Hughes, unlike Thomas, portrays these battles in a negative light, and seems to portray the plants as the enemy. This poem is a lot more violent than the previous one, as it actually portrays the epic battle that the thistles fight to survive. Both these poems portray themes of nature fighting against man, and survival. Analysis of Thistles Thistles is a poem about survival and triumph. It portrays how thistles have to fight to stay alive, but they in fact conquer over their aggressors. In order to fully understand this one must analyze the poem stanza by stanza. In stanza 1 the very first word, Against, gives us the first clue to the plight of the thistle. It has many things which are against it, such as the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men. The fact that the hoeing hands of men is used as an example of one of the thistles enemies, is ironic, because even though the men have hoes and mean to destroy, the thistles still survive. The use of spike in line 2 gives us a sharp, jagged image of artillery. Crackle in line 3 gives us this same effect. These war-like images are continued throughout the poem. The use of the word crackle gives us the idea that the thistle is tough, not gently opening, but crackling open, as if preparing for battle. In stanza two the poet introduces the idea of revenge. (Every one a revengeful burst) The poet uses the word burst to describe the purple exploded head of the thistle, and the spikes that protrude from this. The use of the word resurrection in line 2 supports the idea of the thistles never really dying. The grasped fistful of splintered weapons and Icelandic frost also refers to the head of the thistle, and how it appears to be like a hand that has grabbed a handful of weapons. The introduction of Icelandic frost brings in the first idea of the war between the Scots and the Vikings. Thrust up brings in the idea that the nettles are like the soldiers sent by nature to fight against man. In stanza two our idea of the thistles being sent by nature is continued. (From the underground stain of decayed Viking This is a reference to the Scots/ Vikings war again, but also a reference to the amazing ability of thistles to get nutrient from any soil, even using the nutrients of the dead body of a Viking. Another war-like image is apparent in the plume of blood referring to the plume of feathers traditionally worn by soldiers in a war. The final stanza begins in contrast to the other stanzas. These strong, unbeatable thistles are growing old and dying. They grow grey, describing how they age before death. But in the second line feud is used, describing how even though the thistle has died the war is not over. Their sons appear, ready to continue the battle over the land. They are stiff with weapons, making them seem unbeatable, almost over-laden with weapons. This poem is full of war-like images and references to historical events. It describes the way thistles never seem to die, and will keep fighting against man until they win. This poem is deeply emotional and metaphorical.

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie

The Lovely Bones Book vs Movie Alice Sebolds bestseller The Lovely Bones is another book that you dont quite know what to expect when you pick it up, but when you read it you get it very quickly. It affects you emotionally as a reader and makes it interesting. Mass market book publishing is, like movies, a calculated and repetitive business. Sebold came with something really different. She was lucky to get her book published, and when she did, no one expected it to sell over 2 million copies or be on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year (Bradshaw). This bestselling book became the basis for the film, taking on the same name, and directed by Peter Jackson; who also is known for directing Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, and The Lord of The Rings the Return of the Ring (York). Having read The Lovely Bones and then watching the film it became clear that not only was there an obvious difference between the movie and book cover, but there were many differenc es and changes that were made on behalf of the film. The Lovely Bones is set in the suburbs of Philadelphia in the early seventies. Its about the Salmon Family; husband, wife, three children and the tragedy that occurs within the family. They were in the prime of their lives, the next thing you know the police have arrived and nobody really knows what happened to the main character, Susie Salmon, a young girl who is murdered in a corn field just beyond the back of her house. In the book Susie is going through her process of going up into Heaven and looking down on her family struggling to deal with the death of their daughter and sister. A major aspect of the book is how she directs her family towards her killer in some sort of retribution (Sebold). As the book was translated to film the differences that are often seen in book to film translations can be more evident as it goes along. As the process of translating The Lovely Bones to film was approached it became the ultimate puzzle for screen writers according to the director Peter Jackson. (Filming) Getting films out to the public for directors or the marketing team of any movie has become easier and easier with Amazon, YouTube, eBay, and personal websites, filmmakers have direct access to the public (Garon xix). Jackson seemed to hope for a similar outcome from the movie as the book. If he had stayed truer to the book, he may have gotten what he wanted. In an attempt to produce from within the pages of the novel, the film, and book, take place during the nineteen seventies and is narrated from the perspective of a fourteen year old girl named Susie Salmon. She is a passionate photographer, has the love and support of her family, and is even getting looks from the boy she has a crush on in school. Life is all good. And then she is brutally murdered by her creepy neighbor George Harvey. (The Lovely Bones) It begins with the same line from the first page of the book: My name is Salmon, like the fish, first name Susie (Sebold 6). Even though the book and film begin the same, the story in the film and the story in the book are very, very different. In the book the actual process and the crisis of the death in the beginning of the book is covered in the first chapter. This first chapter covers forty five to fifty minutes of the film, which is most of the movie. Susie Salmon the lead in the movie, played by Saoirse Ronan, and the main character of the book is portrayed amazingly. She really does capture the tone and the innocence along with the development away from the innocence of the character of Susie in the original text. Mark Walberg plays the father and is a massive character in the book. The best casting to the book is Susan Sarandon, as the Grandmother, even though physically they have a completely different description of the Grandmother in the book (USA). However, translation to film does not detail you the torment that the family goes through chapter after chapter. For example, the destruction of the family unit, the extended leave of the mother, sleepless nights of the sister and obsessive focus on finding Susie and her killer. There is no depiction in the film of the horrific nature of the abduction, murder, or more specifically the graphic rape and dismemberment of Susie. The movie is quite sugar coated compared to the book. It almost appears that the screenwriters for this movie pulled an old teenage trick of reading the first chapter and then skipping to the last. (York) Many differences continue to unfold as the movie shows Susie feeling life fading away from her as she grabs onto the top of a flower, forcing herself into the in-between. There, she is confused and alone until she meets Holly, who helps her navigate her new world. Its just the two of them in utopia, a perfect world of their own making, at first. As it plays out Susie and Holly only exist with a growing number of girls that Harvey has killed. Jackson creates a visual basis for the in-between that is almost like a dream. Creative license took shape when the director places visions of ghostly Susie entering the realm of the real world to inspire changes in events. (The Lovely Bones) Among one of the larger differences in the film to book translation, which wasnt a problem until the viewing of the film, was it became unclear in the book what kind of state or status Susie was in when she died; rather she was in a kind of purgatory or they call it the in-between in both the book and film. It was made clearer in the movie that she was going on a specific journey, and they actually created that world very visually, which was very good. The only issue with these visuals was as a reader you have your own images in your head that were previously described in the book. Visually the film is spectacular, but for a reader there are no huge bottles with ships inside and visions of her in the eyes of her family. These events just dont exist in the text. Contrary to the production, book Susie puts her dismembered body back together and meets Franny, her intake specialist, who helps her navigate this new world. Susie refuses to go to heaven until she can reach her family and help catch her killer (Sebold 8). Only then does she meet Holly, her roommate (Sebold 17). Susie lives in her vision, with people everywhere throwing javelins and wandering around in their own versions in the distance, similar to the real world. She creates cool swing sets and a duplex that she always wanted and shares it with her new friend Holly. Susies interpretation of heaven is populated with real men and women, of all ages, from all background, who died and now resides in overlapping worlds (Sebold 19). Because this movie is based off a three hundred page book it feels like it moves too fast missing key components in the timeline. Several minutes into the film George Harvey lures her to his hidden den in a field, sparking excitement and interest in Susie. Harvey tries to hide his deed and find other victims as her family tries to deal with the tragedy as well as trying to find out just who is responsible for her murder (Filming). It then becomes confusing for readers when the movie cuts to a point where Susie appears to escape from the underground lair in the corn field and then is running through the streets. Its not immediately apparent that she is dead or how she died. This ghostly appearance does not occur and the death scene is clearer in the text. The book is detailed and sharp which leads to the confusion of the timeline within the movie. Timelines within the film get more blurred as we read further into the novel. It graphically describes the rape followed by him murdering her with a shaving razor (Sebold 12). Then, he dismembers her body, putting her remains in a safe that he dumps in a sinkhole (Sebold 53). This timeline is skipped in the film as they focus more on Jack, Susies father, and his search for a killer. He is obsessively seen collecting personal files and digging up tax records on a number of shady men, every man he can think of (The Lovely Bones), although, Mr. Harvey is the first, and only, suspect of Jack in the book. He knows it and feels it after helping Mr. Harvey with a project in his backyard, bringing about another difference, a ceremonial tent in the book and a duck blind in the movie. However, this occurs two years later in the movie. Its within the first month in the book. It takes eleven months before the police even turn up Susies hand-knit hat. Within the book Susies elbow turns up three d ays later, the hat within weeks. The film skips or twists more and more detail and leaves you expecting and waiting for them to unfold but, some never come and others dont come until almost the end, and then it is vague and contained in sudden flashbacks with no explanation. (Sebold 55) (The Lovely Bones) In terms of the plot line the film attempts to get it, though it does not go into the depth that they do in the book. Jackson takes his time in carefully setting up the plot just enough so that we have a good hold on the world of the story the entire time (USA). The time period is reflected well and the main character is likeable and someone who we can sympathize with easily, but not because she is a teenage girl that dies. Her personality and narrations are what do it instead. The film moves back and forth between what the book and movie call the in-between or afterlife and the real world and comes across in the movie very visually (Visual). The visuals are just stunning and there is a unique feel about them as though you are in a dream while they play in front of you. The structuring of this movie is also kind of weird; thankfully with so many other differences this didnt make the movie so confusing as to lose the audience completely (Filming). In film it diverts back and forth to Susie focusing on having her first kiss with Ray, the visually extravagant in-between, and warning her family; whereas the book, although narrated by Susie, explores so many other characters and life experiences. In contrast to the movie, the book is more of a coming of age story about a girl who will never get the chance to grow up. Susie can only grow spiritually by watching her family and friends as they each reach milestones, leave for college, get married and have kids of their own. For book readers shes already had her first kiss and after watching her sister and Samuel make love she longs to do the same with Ray, the boy who was going to go out with her, her crush (Sebold 237). Susie later possesses Ruth, her former classmate and friend. Ruth, who has a spiritual connection with Susie, is overwhelmed by the feeling of her presence. Susie then enters Ruths body and makes love to Ray, which is again graphically described in text (Sebold 300). The movie focus again takes away from the book journey eliminating this sexual growth aspect to the teenage girl. Like many adaptations found with book to film projects; you do lose a vast number of really important events. Such that, the scenes where we follow Harvey are well thought out in just how they show his life and his way of thinking in the film very vaguely. His apparent odd psychological state of mind, expressed with his need for an alarm to prompt him to open his window shades, does not translate as well in the movie (The Lovely Bones). His odd psychological state and inability to follow social norms are described in detail within the chapters as he devices ways to appear normal to the outside world (Sebold 130). In the book you get more in depth descriptions which develops the characters of not just Harvey and Susie but, her sister, her father and, especially, her mother. You learn a lot about her mother which is important however, in the film you learn very little. It is played out in the text that Abigail, Susies mother, never wanted children, withdraws from her family and has an affair with police detective Len Fenerman, the investigator to Susies case (Sebold 196). You also dont learn in the movie that the mother abandoned the father, sister and brother. You see her in the film leave with one suitcase in a cab as though she is taking a vacation or just a getaway to clear her head. However, in the book narrations she abruptly leaves and takes a job at a winery in California and attends College. Abigail leaves and creates a life for herself with her boyfriend, Samuel Heckler, who she becomes engaged to after finishing college. Only after hearing that Jack has had a heart attack does she return eight years later (Sebold 220). This huge gap in time and events are not portrayed in the movie. The relationship between Abigail and her children is then laid out in detail as their son Buckley expresses bitterness for her abandoning the family for most of his childhood (Sebold 264). The filmmakers cut this out completely never even giving a hint that this fracture happened within the family. She is nearly ignored in the movie by giving us just small glimpses of an upset and lost mom, until Jack is nearly beaten to death and then appears again creating an image that she was there the whole time, perhaps distant in her mourning (The Lovely Bones). This information could have made the film come to life as more realistic, instead it is projected on the screen that the family also lives in their own utopia of sorts. Both the book and film end with a similar event. Mr. Harvey, her rapist, her murderer, and the evil man that exists in the world is killed in the book when he is attempting to violate a young girl and an ice sickle falls from a tree hitting his shoulder. As it hits him he is put off balance and falls into a deep ravine. He lies there, being buried by the cold snow, not to be found for weeks (Sebold 327). It is similar in the movie; he is also hit by an ice cycle and falls down a large ravine then abruptly ends. You have an idea that he is dead from the graphic fall, but still no closure, it is left open ended. (New Zealand). When watching the movie you find that it seems to intertwine three story lines. First, is that of Susie in the in-between, the second deals with her mourning family and the third, interestingly, deals with her killer. Although this movie has a serial killer on the loose and its share of cops it is in no way like a crime or revenge story. Instead this is a movie about family bonds and about a loss. Its about the presence people can have in our lives even when they are gone; its about understanding what closure really means, and differs from the novel. The Lovely Bones is a very compassionate story the way it is told from the girls point of view and the innocence that she has in the way she looks at the world she has left behind. Alice Sebold gives us a look at how the Salmon Family is forever changed as a result of Susies murder. Susie watches as her parents drift apart and her siblings and friends grow up and have experiences Susie can only witness. Through the experiences of the Salmon Family in The Lovely Bones, readers can examine their own feelings and reactions to loss and mourning. Susie is on this incredible adventure into the world of the afterlife, described as the in-between. The rules of our world no longer apply. She has to come to terms with where she is and has to somehow influence events back down on earth that enable her killer to be caught. It is an incredibly layered story getting its title from a section at the end of the book (Mehegan). These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absence: the connections-sometimes tenuous, sometimes made at great cost, but often magnificent-that happened after I was gone. And I began to see things in a way that let me hold the world without me in it. The events my death brought were primarily that the bones of a body that would become whole at some unpredictable time in the future. The price of what I came to see as this miraculous lifeless body had been my life (Sebold 320). Throughout this discussion you can see that as the book was translated to film, by director Peter Jackson, the differences that are often seen in book to film translations are more evident and clear as it goes along. Due to time constraints and interpretation, we find that a majority of book to film projects do not hold faithfulness to the authors. It has also been found that many books to film correlations create added characters or eliminate characters for theatrical benefit (Cohen 1). It may even be better to watch the film and then read the book. This might prevent you from making judgments about this film on the basis of the book such as, visual effects, timeline, and content, due to it being three hundred pages turned into two hours, which in text form are actually only about one hundred pages. Predictably, Peter Jacksons interpretation of The Lovely Bones is not equal to the interpretation of the author Alice Sebold. Clearly you can see that this story has been interpreted in very different ways, both in film and in text. Differences within the movie create a watered down and non-confrontational approach to the real subject matter of the novel. Therefore, if you are looking to research any book by watching its movie remember you are probably going to be missing about two thirds of the book, if not more. As exampled here, with The Lovely Bones, the differences between book and film translations can be extreme causing confusion and distorted reality of the content and subject matter of the authors original concepts. Work Cited Bradshaw, Peter. Guardian. 2002. 14 Nov. 2012 http://books.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/feb/18/the-lovely-bones-review. Cohen, Steven and Hark, Ina Rae. The Road Movie Book. Routledge. New York, NY. 1997. Filming the Lovely Bones (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Garon, Jon. The Independent Filmmakers Law and Business Guide: Financing, Shooting, and Distributing Independent and Digital Films. Chicago Review Press. Chicago, IL- 2nd Edition. 2009. Mehegan, David. Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Words to Live by (Supplementary interview). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. New Zealand Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009 Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. Sebold, Alive. The Lovely Bones. The Oddity of Suburbia. (Supplementary essay). Little, Brown and Co. New York, NY. 2002. The Lovely Bones-Free Online Study Guide. The Best Notes. 2008. 14 Nov. 2012. http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/lovely_bones_sebold. The Lovely Bones. Peter Jackson. DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. USA Principal Photography (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. Visual Effects (Special Features). DW Studios LLC. Dreamworks Pictures. BLU-RAY. 2009. York, April. Book vs. Film: The Lovely Bones. 2010. 14 Nov. 2012. http://culturemagazine.ca/cinema/book_vs_film_the_lovely_bones.html.

Essay --

Racism In A Worn Path And Desiree's Baby In both of the stories A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, and Desiree‘s Baby by Kate Chopin. The encounters of Phoenix and Desiree show two different readings that deal with a common theme of impending the black and white racial issue in America. There are lots of references to racism in both of the readings. Throughout the short story A Worn Path, there are many events related to racism when Phoenix walking along an extremely difficult path to the town and get the medicine for her grandson. The first event is that when she meets the white hunter. First he appears as a kind and a friendly person , he suggested Phoenix to return home , however , she refused the hunter 's suggestion , because she is on a mature and important mission of love. Then the hunter made a racist joke to Phoenix, "I know you colored people! Wouldn't miss going to town to see Santa Claus!" Second event is that when Phoenix entered clinic, she has been treated unfairly because she is black. "A charity case, I suppose," said an attendant who sat at the desk before her."(Welty70) ,"" Are you deaf?" cried the attendant."(Welty 75). The attendant rudely asked whether she is deaf because she didn't answer her questions immediately and Phoenix referred as a charity case .Phoenix performed a great sacrifice for her gran dson, but the attendant 's behavior shows she is childish. Phoenix Jackson accepted the harsh circumstances of her life and moves on. The racism feature is the main theme in the short reading " Desiree's Baby. There are racism events happens when throughout the story. Desiree's Baby took place when racism was way too prevalent. After Desiree married to Armand , they birthed a baby. When the child grows, the ski... ...t not judge the people by looking at their races, like the old says" don't judge a book by its cover. In the reading, the pride of Armand was greater than the love for his wife and their baby, which destroyed Desiree and their baby's life and led to a sad ending. In Welty 's short story "A Worn Path", Phoenix is an old black woman who has no education after Phoenix was freed from slavery, and the racism was still way too prevalent after the Civil War. Her pride of love that she wants to get the medicine for her grandson and go through the woods no matter how difficult was it and no matter how unfair the society is ,there is nothing can able to stop her way. In both stories Desiree's baby and A Worn Path showed a great representation to the readers about the struggles of racial issues in South U.S and people went through. The world has changed when time moves on.

Racism :: Canadian History, Politics, The Indian Law

The two earlier existing schools, industrial schools and boarding schools, were united into residential schools by the Canadian Government in 1864 (Reimer, 2010:36). Miller (1996) has explained â€Å"the governing of the schools had the form of joint venture between state and church (Roman , Anglican, Methodist or United Church) where the state was responsible for the financing (Miller, 1996:25). ’’ The Canadian Government was responsible directly when it came to establishing residential schools for Aboriginal children. In order to attend residential schools, Aboriginal children were taken away from their families and communities. The proper definition of Aboriginal people or Aboriginal includes Mà ©tis, Inuit, and First Nations regardless of where they live in Canada and regardless of whether they are â€Å"registered† under the Indian Act of Canada (Stout and Kiping, 2003:5). Throughout history First Nations, Inuit, and Mà ©tis people have faced centuries of colonial suppression which has disrupted the process of Aboriginal cultural identity formation. One of the tools of suppression is through the formation of residential schools. At the schools, the children suffered from emotional, physical, sexual and psychological abuse (Stout and Kipling, 2003:8). The trauma to which Aboriginal people were exposed in the past by residential schools continues to have major negative effect to the generations to follow. By the 1840s, the attempts by the churches to â€Å"civilize† Aboriginal people became a matter of official state policy (Claes and Clifton, 1998). This was an era of westward expansion and the government was anxious to prevent any Aboriginal interference with its colonization plans. Subscribing to an ideology that constructed Aboriginal people as backward and savage, government officials believed assimilation was in the population’s best interests (1998; Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, 2000). For example, in 1847, the chief superintendent of education in Upper Canada indicated in a report to the Legislative Assembly that â€Å"education must consist not merely of the training of the mind, but of a weaning from the habits and feelings of their ancestors, and the acquirements of the language, arts and customs of civilized life† (cited in Claes and Clifton, 1998:15). The 1884 amendments to the Indian Act served as a particularly important impetus for growth. On the one hand, they made boarding school attendance mandatory for Native children less than 16 years of age. On the other hand, the revised Act gave authorities the power to arrest, transport and detain children at school, while parents who refused to cooperate faced fines and imprisonment (Claes and Clifton, 1998).

Organs and Organ Systems to Organelles :: essays papers

Organs and Organ Systems to Organelles The human body consists of many different organs and organ systems, which are made up of billions of cells. Inside these cells there are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“tiny organsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬,or organelles. These organelles act in many ways like the organs and systems of the body. To better understand the relationship between them, I am going to compare and contrast their differences and their similarities. The brain is the control center of the human body. It sends and receives messages to the rest of the body. The brain is made up of many different parts, and each part has its own job. The nucleus of a cell is very similar to the brain because it is the control center of the cell. It too sends and receives messages, only throughout the cell. The nucleus is made up of many other parts, which have all have special jobs also. The brain and nucleus are alike in several ways, but contrast in one primary area. The brain sends messages by neurons and electric impulses, while the nucleus does it by means of messenger RNA. The body has a shape that is contributed to by the muscular and skeletal systems. Bones provide the body with framework, and the muscles allow movement. The cell has similar organelles, the cytoplasm and the microtubules, which provide the cell with form. The microtubules are tube-like structures that act like bones do in humans, they give shape and support to the cell. The cytoplasm is a jelly-like substance that keeps things in place, and restricts the movement of organelles in the cell. The main difference between them is the fact that microtubules arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t joined by anything like a ligament or a tendon and cytoplasm doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t contract like muscles do. The digestive system of the human body is made up of several organs that work together to break down food so it can be used in the body. Similar organelles in the cell are endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, and the golgi body. Endoplasmic reticulum is used in the synthesis of molecules entering the cell. The ribosomes produce protein and send them to the places in the cell that needs it. The golgi body is the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“packaging siteà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬. All three of thes organelles play an important role in processing molecules in the cell.

A Review of Fonterra Group’s Strategy and Business Model

Fonterra was formed in the October 2001 merger of the New Zealand Dairy Group (NZDG), Kiwi Cooperative Dairies, and the New Zealand Dairy Board (NZDB). It has become the world’s leading exporter of dairy products, responsible for over a third of international dairy trade. The Group is co-operatively owned by over 10,500 dairy farmers whose products make their way to customers in approximately 140 countries. Fonterra aims for global dairy leadership and its purpose is to sell their farmer shareholders’ milk (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2011). Analysis of the Dairy Industry using Porter’s Five Forces Porter's first force describes the threat of potential entrants. Barriers to entry and economies of scale are significant for new entrants. However, New Zealand’s deregulated market structure and relatively low cost might attract entrants as a base of export oriented supply and processing. The threat of new entrant is medium (Vallyon, 2003). Porter's second force is bargaining power of buyers. The New Zealand dairy industry exports 95% of the country’s dairy production. Continued consolidation of food manufacturing and retailers has the effect of reducing overall numbers of buyers in the industry and increasing their purchasing power (Vallyon, 2003). Faced with the fact that buyers face few switching costs, it is fair to say that buyers have high bargaining power in the industry. Porter's next force is bargaining power of suppliers. The dairy industry is a seller’s market with global demand exceeding supply. This opens up opportunities for other uprising overseas markets to the industry with suppliers from India, China and Brazil. Fonterra supplies are secured through the co-operatives structure and a significant threat exists if Fonterra fail to make competitive milk payouts to its farmer shareholders (Vallyon, 2003). It is clear that Fonterra suppliers have some bargaining power in the industry. Porter's fourth industry force is the threat of substitute products. Dairy milk is a unique natural product without any artificial substitutes. However there is development of alternatives including soya milks and non-dairy milks such as goat, buffalo and sheep. Danone, Unilever and Coca-cola have also made significant acquisitions or partnerships with organic milk producers. Although a dairy product, organic milk can be considered as a parallel value chain as it requires different knowledge and techniques at each stage of the process (Vallyon, 2003). In this sense, the force is low to medium. Porter’s final force is the intensity of competitive rivalry. As a global leading dairy exporter, Fonterra faces increasing threats as global competitors become aware of its size and influence in the industry. Continued consolidation of industry could see competing dairy resources being merged into larger, more efficient competitors. In the evolution of trade liberalisation, competitors may respond through increasing global growth strategies (Vallyon, 2003). Hence this force is high. Fonterra’s Strategies Fonterra’s business model is a farmer-owned co-operative, widely spread around the vertically integrated New Zealand Dairy Industry. At Fonterra, the goal is to build a business that pays the farmer shareholders the maximum sustainable price for their milk and that maximises profits from the capital invested in the Co-operative (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). To achieve this, Fonterra has three key strategies in becoming the company that is the source of natural dairy nutrition to the world. Firstly they intend to deliver sustainable co-operative performance. With its scale and reach of operations, Fonterra creates enormous logistics complexities. However, when it comes to processing, recent projects like Drier 4 at Edendale (ED4) in Southland are said to be the most efficient milk powder unit in the world. Likewise, in order to optimise the supply chain at home so to deliver product to their customers as efficiently as possible, Fonterra expanded a key cool and dry store logistics hub that has taken more than 50,000 truck movements off local roads and has largely eliminated the need for contracted storage around the Waikato (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). This is working alongside with the enhanced use of rails to move products around the country. Then elsewhere, the Group has also taken its development online with the launch of globalDairyTrade (gDT), an internet-based auction platform through which sellers offer to sell commodity dairy products (Q&As: globalDairyTrade Information Portal, 2011). In 2010 gDT has sold 359,000 metric tonnes on the platform (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). Fonterra’s second strategic goal is to build trusted brands in chosen markets. Fonterra has a strategy to strengthen their positions in key regional markets where ownership of the supply chain gives a degree of competitive advantage (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). The focus has been on high growth markets within Asia/Africa/Middle East (Asia/AME) and Latin America, and the existing strong market franchises in ANZ. Anlene provides a great insight to Fonterra’s brand strategy at work. Created in Asia in 1991 to support bone health, Anlene is now the clear number one high-calcium milk brand across Asia. Priced at 30-50% above regular milks, Anlene is a trusted premium brand in the Asia market, which has an expanding middle class that is caring more about healthy nutrition for the whole family (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). Additionally, Fonterra has continually restructured their investment portfolio to ensure they can capitalise on the most promising market opportunities. To support its expansion in Africa and the Middle East, they have purchased the remaining 51 per cent stake in Saudi New Zealand Milk Products (SNZMP), a dairy manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia, has secured manufacturing capacity to support growth plans in the Middle East. Currently packing Anchor and Anlene milk powders and producing processed cheese, SNZMP supplies 20 countries in the region (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). The third strategy Fonterra have adopted is to grow lasting customer partnership with the world’s leading food and nutritional companies. The company looks to improve their ability to source and add value to dairy supply so to strengthen their position as the supplier of choice from around the world. In order to achieve it, they have focused on developing customer partnerships in premium ingredients and in foodservice solutions. Premium ingredients are products that are more advanced than standard dairy ingredients. Examples are nutritional bases for infant formula and growing-up milk powders (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010). Fonterra is already the preferred supplier of all five of the world’s largest infant formula companies with stronger demand from their customers to partner them. Key customers have strong growth ambitions and they are looking to Fonterra as a preferred source of high-quality paediatric nutrition products. A premium ingredients category with exciting prospects is pharmaceutical lactose, with Fonterra a world leader in lactose excipients through their joint venture with RoyalFrieslandCampina which develops, produces and markets high quality lactose used in the pharmaceutical, nutrition and food industries (Fonterra Co-operative Group, 2010).